Commercial Lawyer

We are looking for a high-calibre Commercial Lawyer to join our dynamic in-house Legal Department.

Role Summary/Purpose of Job

Our In-House Commercial lawyers provides prompt, pragmatic, accurate, and commercial legal advice crucial to the firm's growth. The successful candidate will contribute significantly to supporting Freshfields across all of our offices.

About Freshfields & Our Legal Department

Freshfields is a leading international law firm committed to excellence and innovation. Our Legal Department plays a vital role in the firm's success, comprising both qualified lawyers and non-lawyers. We manage the firm's risk exposure and provide critical advice on a broad spectrum of legal and compliance issues. Our mission is to support the firm in the effective management of regulatory, legal, operational, and information security risk, thereby preserving and maximising the firm's long-term value. We strive to be recognised as a leader among comparable elite law firms, acknowledged internally for providing excellent service in a commercial and empathetic manner, while remaining agile and cost-effective .

Key Responsibilities and Deliverables

Working alongside other Commercial Lawyers within our Legal Department, you will be responsible for providing pragmatic, accurate, and commercial legal advice to both lawyers and non-lawyers across the firm's global offices. Your responsibilities will include:

• Supporting Departmental and firm-wide projects as part of the Commercial Team and broader Legal Department.
• Reviewing, advising on, and negotiating contractual terms with our clients.
• Advising on and negotiating a broad range of procurement projects with our suppliers.
• Providing ad hoc legal advice to both legal and non-legal professionals.
• Assisting in the delivery of training to various staff across the firm.
• Contributing to the development of internal guidance on commercial legal issues and risk mitigation strategies.
• Aligning with best practice standards set by the Commercial Team and the Legal Department.
• Supporting the firm's risk mitigation strategies and developing positive working relationships across all levels.

Key Requirements

• Qualification & Experience: Qualified lawyer with a minimum of three years' demonstrable post-qualification experience (or equivalent), relevant to the responsibilities outlined above.
• Contractual Expertise: Experience advising on commercial contracts (e.g., framework agreements, service agreements, joint ventures, co-operation agreements, consultancy agreements), and/or tech contracts (e.g., software licenses and implementation agreements), and/ or procurement contracts (e.g., outsourced/managed services, facilities management).
• In-house Experience: Previous experience working in-house at a law firm or other professional services firm, would be advantageous.
• Workload Management: Proven ability to work autonomously, think creatively, effectively prioritise, and manage large and varied workloads, adapting action plans accordingly.
• Stakeholder Engagement: Ability to communicate clearly and succinctly, with and influence stakeholders across various departments.

Required Competencies

To succeed in this role, you must demonstrate:

• A high degree of professionalism and the ability to quickly establish credibility, respect, and trust at all levels.
• Excellent attention to detail.
• As a strong team player, you will be calm and effective in a fast-paced environment, taking responsibility and ownership of issues.
• Excellent negotiation skills, a love of the law, and insightful drafting abilities.
• Excellent organisational skills and a commitment to delivering a consistent first-class service to internal clients.
• Resilience, maintaining humour and a sense of proportion.

Inclusion

Freshfields is an equal opportunities employer and all applications received by the firm will be considered based on their merit alone and we welcome applications from all suitably qualified individuals regardless of background. All offers of employment will be conditional on the candidate having/securing the right to work in the UK and providing the firm with evidence of that right (as required by the Immigration, Asylum and Nationality Act 2006) prior to employment commencing.

Freshfields is a Ban the Box employer. We ask applicants to disclose criminal convictions only when a conditional job offer is made. A conviction does not automatically lead to withdrawal of the offer: we make decisions on a case-by-case basis and take a number of factors into account (e.g. the role you are applying for and the circumstances of the offence). You would have the opportunity to discuss the matter with us before we make a decision.